Glass Ceilings
by Lioness002
Summary: Do you know what a glass ceiling is? It's a state of mind that keeps you from fulfilling what you want to do...but when someone finally breaks it, the thing that took so long coming, comes easy, almost naturally. Damon, what if we broke our glass ceiling?


**So I just got this idea after the latest Homecoming episode that was just full of surprises. :)**** I (along with many other devoted Delena fans I am sure) loved the Delena moment at the end. :) *Sighs* If only Katherine had called ten minutes later. Oh well, so this is my idea of what would have happened right after she called. :) So I hope you enjoy and will please leave me a review when you are done reading. Thanks! -Lioness002**

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><p>"Take care of yourself Katherine," Damon sighed as Katherine ended the call and he pulled the phone away from his ear. I watched his face flash with a million different emotions as he looked at me. The tension and emotion from the moment we had just shared was still hanging heavy in the air, it was stifling and it pained me to know that we couldn't get that moment back. Damon closed his eyes and sighed before he gave me one last pained look and slowly began pulling away from me. "I'll be in my room," he mumbled walking across the room and angrily grabbing a bottle of some sort of strong liquor, and began walking toward the door.<p>

"Damon!" I finally called out once I had found my voice again. I had almost been in shock, my nerves were so fried that everything was going in slow motion and it took me forever to process even the simplest sentence. I couldn't think about anything except for Damon at the moment. I hated how he was in so much pain, how he looked so destroyed. And it killed me even more to know that I couldn't do anything to help him.

He turned to look at me over his shoulder and just waved me off as he left the room. I let out a choked sigh and felt my shoulders slouch with exhaustion as I practically collapsed onto the couch behind me. I let out a deep breath and pulled my knees to my chest and just stared at the fire. We were so close, so close to kissing…again, and then there was a phone call. Of course, there is _always_ something to stop us. It's like everyone has radar in their brain alerting them when Damon and I are having a moment. If it's not Alaric it's a phone call, if it's not a phone call it's some crazy vampire.

Why can't we both just be given the chance to actually explore what we feel? "Oh yeah, because I've been pushing him away for a year," I thought bitterly. Now even my own actions were coming back to bite me in the butt. Through all of this, the ups and downs with Stefan and Klaus, all I have really learned is that Stefan is a much darker person than I ever thought, and that Damon will always be the one there for me. In retrospect he had always been there for me even when Stefan was here, he had just turned it down a bit because he knew I wasn't ready for it yet.

I blinked in surprise and stood up quickly. "He has always been here for me, so I need to be here for him,"I thought running out of the parlor and up the stairs to Damon's room. I stopped in front of Damon's door and hesitated for a second before I squared my shoulders and I knocked on it.

There was silence before I heard a deep sigh. "Go away Elena," Damon grouched and I could hear the slight difference in his voice that alerted me to the fact that he was getting drunk.

"No," I said pushing open the door and resting my hands on my hips as I stared at Damon. He was sitting comfortably on his bed with his head leaned back against his pillows and eyes closed, he also had a bottle of alcohol held tightly in his hand. "Damon." I shook my head and slowly walked over to the bed and sat down next to him and waited.

"What are you still doing here?" He asked pulling the bottle to his lips and taking a deep swig of the amber looking substance. I felt my face twist into a look of disappointment as I held my hand out for the bottle. Damon's silver-blue eyes fluttered open and he frowned at my hand before taking another sip.

"I'm here because I'm your friend Damon, and I know that you're hurting about what happened tonight. Please, just let me in and talk to me." I urged crossing my legs on the bed and staring at him.

Damon shook his head and ran a hand down his face. "You don't want to know what is going on in my head right now, trust me." He stopped and fingered the neck of the bottle for a second as he got lost in his own thoughts. "You should leave," he mumbled about to raise the bottle to his mouth again. That hit me because I felt my temper flare and eyes form slits.

"Stop it, Damon!" I yelled trying desperately to pull the bottle away from him. "I am not going to let you destroy yourself over this!" I yelled as I felt tears cascade down my cheeks but I didn't care enough to wipe them away. Damon finally let go of the bottle and I placed it roughly on the bedside table. "Why is this failure hitting you so hard? We've failed before; almost all of our plans fail!" I yelled throwing my arms in the air in irritation.

"Because Elena, this time we couldn't fail and we did." Damon yelled.

"We will get through it, we always do! I told you all of this earlier." I hissed staring him down. "Why, is this killing you Damon? I want you to tell me the truth."

"Because I can't save you!" Damon yelled jumping off of the bed so fast my eyes couldn't follow him. I turned over my shoulder and saw him all the way in the bathroom with his eyes practically blazing with fury. "Because when it comes down to it, I will never be able to keep you safe from _him_. Not now that we have made it perfectly clear that we want him dead. Tonight was that turning point and it turned in his favor." Damon practically screamed as he picked up the closest thing to him and hurtled it at his mirror causing it shatter into a million pieces. I jumped in shock and I felt my eyes widen, but I wasn't afraid of him, I was just surprised.

"That is what you're all bent out of shape about? You're acting this way because of _me_?"

"Yes Elena! Haven't you figured out that everything I do is to protect _you_, to keep _you_ safe, to keep _you_ alive?"

"And I'm still alive." I said getting off of the bed and walking towards him. "You've kept me safe, Damon," I said soothingly trying to calm him down.

"Stop Elena, you know how I am when I'm upset." Damon hissed trying to stop me from coming any closer. I stopped for a split second to just look at him, he was tense, angry, and impulsive, overall it wasn't smart for me to push him, but I had too. I cared too much about him to let guilt and fear eat away at him.

"Yes, I do," I said determinedly as I walked into the bathroom and stopped in front of him. "But I know you won't hurt me," I whispered slowly reaching up and cupping his face. My gaze tracked all over Damon's face as I gave him gentle and tentative strokes with the pads of my thumbs. Trying to get closer to Damon was like going through an obstacle course, one wrong move and we both would have to restart. Damon shook his head slowly and closed his eyes as he pulled his face slightly away from me. I frowned and pulled him back to look at me. "I trust you."

"You hold to high of a belief in me," he said tersely taking even and slow breaths trying to defuse his anger and bloodlust.

"No, I don't. And do you know why I think that?" I asked calmly.

"Why's that?" He asked softly.

"Because I know that you love me." Damon was silent and I could tell I had taken him by surprise. He had never heard me bring up the fact that he loved me, heck, he had never even heard me acknowledge the fact that I _knew_ he loved me. I lightly slipped my fingers down his face just marveling at how smooth and perfect it was before I rested my hands on his shoulders. I confidently met his gaze, chocolate meeting icy blue, and told him to challenge what I had just said. We both knew that I was right; Damon would never hurt me because he loved me. He would let himself suffer just so I could be happy, but that wasn't fair to him.

"Elena, why are you bringing this up? You never want to go into what's going on between us. You always say 'don't go there'," Damon whispered as his eyes clouded with confusion. I took a deep breath and shrugged self consciously as I looked down at the floor.

To my surprise I felt Damon gently put a finger under my chin and pull my gaze up so we were looking into each other's eyes again. What I saw there was breath-taking; his eyes that moments ago had been so lost and desolate were now full of hope, wonder, excitement, and even love. He hesitantly mirrored the action I had made moments ago and gently cupped my face.

I gulped and could feel Damon holding my face ever so gently as he stared deep into my eyes. My stomach was doing twists and my whole body was tingling just from the fact that he was touching me. I knew Damon wanted to kiss me, I could tell by the fact his gaze kept going from my eyes to my lips. I placed my hands over his and leaned just an inch closer which left us with a little more than a centimeter between us. If one of us moved we would be breaking the glass ceiling, breaking down the barrier between us and letting our actions take course. I took a deep breath and licked my lips slightly as I stared at him, I couldn't help but think of how good he looked, how good he smelled, how good he made me _feel_.

"Elena." Damon whispered again and I could hear the pain in his voice as he stroked my cheek waiting for my answer.

"Damon, I'm so tired of fighting," I whispered softly as my vision blurred slightly. "I can't keep doing this to me or you. For once I want to be honest…." I paused and took a breath. "Do you know what a glass ceiling is?"

"I've heard of it…?" He said slowly as his brow furrowed in confusion.

"It's a state of mind. It's the thing that keeps you from fulfilling what you want to do, because the glass hasn't been broken you can't complete your goal, but when someone finally breaks it, after that, the thing that took so long coming, comes easy, almost naturally." I whispered staring deep into his eyes.

"What does that have to with this?" He mumbled quietly.

"Have you ever stopped to wonder what would really happen between us if we both stopped resisting?" I asked glancing at his oh so kissable lips and back at him.

"Every day." He mumbled softly.

"What if we broke our glass ceiling? If we kissed each other, it would be like breaking the glass ceiling in our relationship. We wouldn't have to fight anymore; we could just let things be. We wouldn't have to feel that powerful longing for each other anymore; we could take the next step. Then Damon, we could really be together." I quietly urged. I was baring my soul; I was finally giving into my own emotions and coming face to face with Damon. I just hoped that when all was said and done, he hadn't already moved on and didn't want me anymore.

"Is that what you want?" He asked softly. "Do you want to break it? Because it seems that once it's broken, it's not going to be fixed." He murmured desperately searching my face. I knew he was hoping that maybe I was finally going to give in, but I knew at the same time he wouldn't hope, just so he wouldn't get as hurt if I rejected him. I knew it was cruel for me to hold him in suspense like this; he had waited long enough for me to express my feelings.

I took a deep breath and swallowed thickly as I pulled his hands away from my face and held onto them tight as I stared deep into his cobalt eyes. "Yes, I want you to kiss me Damon." I whispered feeling a sense of relief, excitement, and nervousness at the statement. I had always thought about how much I wanted him to kiss me, but I had never said it out loud.

Before I had time to ask if Damon was alright, he had snapped himself out of his momentary shock and brought his lips quickly to mine. I closed my eyes and indulged myself in Damon, his kissing was Elysian. I felt as if I had just found my other half, the part that completed me. Our lips buzzed together as he slowly started walking me backwards towards his bed. I pulled away slightly to get as little air as I could as Damon moved his attention to my neck.

"_Damon_." I moaned as I wound the fingers of my left hand into his hair and my right hand held tightly onto his bicep for support. He left hurried and open mouthed kisses all along my neck and shoulder's as he pulled my shirt away slightly and nipped at my sensitive skin causing me to let out a small moan. His actions were fierce and passionate, like all he wanted to do was taste as much of me as fast as possible. This moment between us was not soft or sweet, this was both of our chances to show the other how much we meant to each other.

I quickly grabbed his face and our gazes met for a second before I pulled him back to my lips and I raked my fingers down his chest. He quickly lifted me up so I could wrap my legs around his waste and he moved to the bed. He let out a soft grunt and moved both of us down onto the plush mattress and continued to kiss me with bruising force.

His lips again traveled from my lips to my nose, to my cheeks, to my eyes, to my chin, and behind my ear. He stopped there and licked gently before blowing making my heart race even more and my body shiver; I had never felt sensations this extreme before. I pulled him closer to me by the shoulders and I could feel his lips vibrating against ear. I sighed and slipped my hands under his shirt to explore his exceptionally muscled chest. Damon groaned deep in my ear as I caressed every dip and curve of his stomach and abs and kept moving farther down.

"Elena." He groaned running his hands along my sides and shimmying my shirt up past my ribs. His eyes were dark with lust as I quickly pulled my shirt over my head to expose my deep purple Victor's Secret bra. He licked his lips as his eyes scanned all over me. I smiled and blinked quickly.

"See something you like?" I managed to tease.

"Yes." He whispered pushing his body further into mine so I could fell his desire for me as he kissed all the newly exposed skin of my flat stomach. He kissed, licked, and nibbled like I was a delicacy he wanted to savor all the way to the valley of my breasts. My heart felt like it was about to explode and I was acutely aware of my own pulsating desire that was quickly growing. I don't think I had ever been this turned on in my life, and we were hardly even doing anything!

"Damon." I whispered needily as I sought for him. His lips quickly swooped in and claimed mine once again as his tongue slipped into my mouth. I blindly fumbled on the buttons of his shirt and considering it was taking longer than I wanted I was getting aggravated. The sensation to feel his cool skin against mine was suddenly so overpowering that I don't know what I would do if it didn't happen. He helped me and shrugged out of his shirt and tossed it behind him somewhere as he continued to chase my tongue around my mouth.

I then took the opportunity to explore his skin more intensely. I wanted to know every dip, curve, scar and birthmark he had as I ran my fingers along his smooth back and chest. I could feel his powerful muscles rippling under my every touch and caress as he mumbled my name over and over and never stopped kissing me. Damon's hands moved along my hips and closer to my core causing my hips to buck involuntarily into his…not that I was complaining because the friction felt amazing. This action earned a strangled groan and a soft chuckle from Damon.

"If you keep doing that Elena, I'm not going to be able to stop." Damon's lust laced voice rumbled in my ear as he sucked and bit my earlobe softly. I squeezed my eyes and legs together trying to keep from exploding as I twisted my head into his neck and left kiss after kiss. I grabbed his shoulders and he allowed me to flip him over so I was straddling his waste as we grinded against each other.

I bent over and kissed every inch of skin I could reach as I held one of Damon's hands securely in mine. Every few kisses he would squeeze my hand tightly and push slightly against me, I didn't know if he was doing it on purpose or just to rile me up more than I already was. I was taking in shallow breaths and so was he as I grazed my teeth along his neck and then let my tongue follow the same path. He hissed and wrapped his arms around me again and crushed his lips to mine.

"I love you…" I whispered against his lips as I weaved my fingers through his hair again. He stopped just for a moment and brushed his fingers gently along my check just looking at me.

"I love you too." He smiled beautifully as I watched his face gain a glow of pure joy as he bent down and captured my lips once again.

Finally, after what felt like forever, I was so out of breath I pulled away from his lips and sat breathing heavily into his neck just inhaling his scent. He held my securely like he was afraid that if he let go for just a second I would disappear. We sat like that regaining our composure for a few minutes before Damon cleared his throat and stroked my hair gently.

"That was…"

"Intense." I finished breathlessly as I pulled my head up and stared deeply into his icy eyes that looked so warm and full of love. My chest swelled with emotion and I swear I had never felt this way before. It was like really seeing that he loved me for the first time. My own confession of love had opened a floodgate of surpressed emotions, and now that it was on the surface, it was impossible to control.

"Intense does not even_ begin _to describe what _that_ was." He sighed happily. After a few more moments of comfortable silence he smirked. "…so, what other glass ceilings can we break?" Damon asked suggestively as he did his eye thing at me. I blushed and giggled as I rested my elbows comfortably on his chest. I couldn't help but smile, this was the happiest I had been in the longest time and it was all thanks to Damon.

"I can think of a few things." I said biting my swollen bottom lip as I cocked my head at him. He smirked magnificently and pulled me back to him and quickly covered my lips with his once again.

"Good, then we're on the same page." He chuckled softly as he wrapped his arms around my waste and I touched my lips to his.

I was right; one kiss would change everything for us. Now that the glass ceiling was broken, we had an infinite amount of possibilities in front of us, and the thought of really being with Damon without resistance or fear of my feelings was amazing. From here on out, as long as we are together and in love, _nothing_ ccould stop us.

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><p><strong>So what did everyone think about this short little one-shot? I know some of you may be bummed this didn't end any racier but I don't write smut…yet. But in a way I find my writing is getting racier so at some point I am sure it will happen. Oh well, this was pretty close anyway. :) So, we learned about 'glass ceilings' in health class last week and it spurred on this story, the idea of the glass ceiling breaking and then that something that came hard now comes easy just seemed so perfect for Damon and Elena's relationship. In the show they haven't been able to break the barrier completely, only crack it a bit, so I look at a real kiss (along with some other things) as the determining factor in their relationship. I hope the idea makes sense to all of you; it made me giddy in excitement to be able to use the idea. :) So thank you so much for reading and I hope you all will leave me a review telling me how I did. Thanks! -Lioness002<strong>

**Note: Elysian means heavenly, blissful, or delightful. **


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